Industry Facts

Production

Origins
Cherry initially had pitched the series to HBO, CBS, NBC, Fox, Showtime, and Lifetime. ABC was the only network to accept Cherry's offer, although they initially weren't satisfied with the name, suggesting titles like Wisteria Lane and The Secret Lives of Housewives instead.

Before Touchstone offered Desperate Housewives to ABC, in the original pilot, Mary Alice Young was played by Sheryl Lee; John the Gardner by Kyle Searles; and Rex Van De Kamp by Michael Reilly Burke. Lee was replaced by Brenda Strong; both had played regular roles as dead people before, Strong on Everwood and Lee on Twin Peaks. Strong also guest starred in two Twin Peaks episodes during their second season. Also, in the original pilot, when the camera is pulling away from the housewives after they found the note, there is a ghost of Mary Alice standing on her lawn looking at them.


Inspirations
One of the biggest inspirations for the show was the film American Beauty[citation needed]. The series has also been likened to other TV shows such as Knots Landing, Twin Peaks, and Sex and the City[citation needed]. In relation to its comparison with Sex and the City, Eva Longoria on Oprah mentioned that she hopes Desperate Housewives can do for married women what Sex and the City did for single women.


Opening credits
The show's opening credits contain references to famous pieces of art, including Adam and Eve by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck, American Gothic by Grant Wood, and Andy Warhol's Campbell's soup can. Also alluded to are the lesser known Couple Arguing and Romantic Couple by Robert Dale (drawn in a comic book style similar to that of Roy Lichtenstein) and a 1940s Am I Proud! poster by Dick Williams (showing a woman holding cans).

The show's theme is composed by Danny Elfman.


Broadcasting
Main article: Broadcasting of Desperate Housewives
Since its US premiere, Desperate Housewives has been broadcasted by the ABC network, with reruns on Lifetime Television. In addition it has been sold to over fifty countries worldwide.

Ratings
During the shows first and second season the show was rated the 4th most watched show in U.S. television, with 23.71 million viewers during season one and 22.2 million viewers during season two. Ratings dipped season three as 26% fewer viewers tuned in compared to the first season.